California · Rock climbing · Paicines

The Back Door

7-route climbing area in California with sport and trad options.

Photo: chaircrusher, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

7 routes

5.8 – 5.12c

Sport · Trad

Is Back Door, The open right now?

Alert in the area

The National Park Service lists an alert for Pinnacles National Park.

Fire Danger HIGH
Park alert covering Pinnacles National Park · NPS · Pinnacles National Park

As of Oct 23, 7:30 pm PDT · Source: NPS · Pinnacles National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit The Back Door

Best months: October–May. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

Jan
63° / 34°
12 wet
Feb
64° / 36°
11 wet
Mar
68° / 38°
10 wet
Apr
72° / 39°
6 wet
May
80° / 43°
3 wet
Jun
89° / 47°
1 wet
Jul
96° / 50°
0 wet
Aug
96° / 50°
0 wet
Sep
92° / 48°
1 wet
Oct
82° / 43°
3 wet
Nov
70° / 37°
7 wet
Dec
62° / 33°
11 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Pinnacles Nm, CA, 0.2 mi away at 1,307 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

The Back Door is a climbing area in Pinnacles National Park in California, managed by the National Park Service. It sits among a cluster of climbing and hiking spots, with Tourist Trap just 0.1 mile away and the Rim Trail and Discovery Wall each about 0.2 mile off. The park charges a fee for climbing here, so plan for that before you go. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to climb. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 80°F and October highs around 82°F, while July and August average about 96°F with almost no wet days. The area has seven routes, five of which are sport climbs and two are trad. Grades range from 5.8 up to 5.12c. Sport climbers will find Limp At Last at 5.9 and The Vigilante at 5.12c, while the trad route The Gag is at 5.10c.